Garabito ICE Power Plant Costa Rica

Garabito ICE Power Plant Costa Rica is a 202.4 MW oil power station in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. It is operated by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 152k homes (estimated). It ranks #2 of 27 Costa Rica power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2011, it is around 15 years old — relatively modern. In context, oil supplies about 0.0% of Costa Rica's electricity; the national grid averages 24 gCO₂/kWh (100.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEODB0046175.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000408583; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as Engine. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Costa Rica oil capacity

43.2% of 469 MW across 3 plants in this dataset

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Costa Rica

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 10.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #2 largest oil power plant of 3 in Costa Rica by capacity.

Costa Rica has 3 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 469 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Ventanas-Garita Hydroelectric Power Station Costa Rica · Hydro · 97 MW · Alajuela
• La Garita Hydroelectic Power Plant Costa Rica · Hydro · 30 MW · Alajuela
• Alberto Echandi Hydroelectric Station Costa Rica · Hydro · 4.7 MW · Alajuela
• Penas Blancas Hydroelectric Power Plant Costa Rica · Hydro · 38 MW · Alajuela
• Toro I Hydroelectric Station Costa Rica · Hydro · 23.2 MW · Alajuela
• Toro II Hydroelectric Power Station Costa Rica · Hydro · 65.2 MW · Alajuela

Location

Coordinates 10.0444, -84.7601 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions